Supporters, opponents gear up for state vote on Brockton power plant

Energy officials may be giving final state approval to a proposed city power plant Thursday, and both supporters and opponents have rented buses to travel to the event

A state board may approve a proposed city power plant Thursday, and both opponents and supporters hope a show of force will sway the outcome.

Key power plant meeting
What: Meeting of the state Energy Facilities Siting Board
When: Thursday, 10 a.m.
Where: One South Station, 5th floor, Boston
How to get there: Those interested in riding the Advanced Power bus can call 508-638-0824 for details. The Stop the Power bus will board at Cindy’s Kitchen, 40 Industrial Blvd. It will leave Brockton at 8 a.m., and head back at 12:30 p.m.

Groups have rented buses to take people from Brockton to the meeting in Boston, even though public comment won’t be allowed.

“We just want to make a showing — that there are lots of people who aren’t pleased with this power plant,” said Barbara Carchidi of West Bridgewater, an organizer with the opposition group, Stop the Power.

The company behind the plant, Boston-based Advanced Power Services NA, will have a bus of its own to take people to the meeting, said spokesman Wes Eberle.

“We’ve reached out to all our supporters to let them know about the hearing,” Eberle said.

Supporters hope the Energy Facilities Siting Board approves a tentative ruling in favor of the project as expected on Thursday.

The board may then choose to adopt the ruling as its final decision — the last step for the project at the state level.

Alternatively, board members could ask for changes in the decision and put off the final vote, said Lisa Capone, spokeswoman for the state Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs.

The meeting will be held at One South Station in Boston and starts at 10 a.m. The power plant will most likely be discussed at the beginning, and is the only major item on the agenda, Capone said.

The plant would be fueled using gas and diesel, and would be built off Oak Hill Way on the city’s south side.

Stop the Power has rented a school bus that can hold up to 70 people, she said. Among those planning to ride the bus is Linda Balzotti, at-large city councilor and candidate for mayor.

As a city official, Balzotti will be one of those allowed to speak at the hearing. Balzotti said her comments will focus on air quality.

“What I’m hoping is they might at least postpone the decision until such time as a more comprehensive air quality test can be done,” Balzotti said.

Mayor James E. Harrington, who opposes the project, said he will also be at the hearing, though he won’t be taking the bus.

The mayor said he will urge the siting board to reconsider its tentative ruling in favor of the plant, citing the issue of “environmental justice.”

The state’s environmental justice policy is meant to protect disadvantaged groups from being overburdened by polluting industry. Many residents from such groups live near the plant site, Harrington said.

“I’ll just basically be reiterating the city’s case,” Harrington said. “I think they should turn it down, just based on environmental justice.”

Several other city councilors, along with members of the city’s legislative delegation, are also expected to attend the meeting.

Among project supporters, Eberle said he expects a range of Brockton businesspeople, residents and union members to attend the meeting.

Bill DeMello, president of the Brockton Building Trades, said members of all 17 trade unions represented by his organization plan to attend the meeting in support of the power plant.

“Obviously we want them to know all these local unions are from Brockton and the area, and that we want the powerhouse to be built,” DeMello said.

Along with the state approval, the plant must also win the go-ahead from several city boards and from the City Council, which would have to approve selling treated wastewater for cooling at the plant.

The council, opposing the project, has signaled it will not sell the wastewater.

Advanced Power had hoped to avoid the local approvals by getting a zoning exemption from the state board.

But as part of its decision, the siting board is expected to refuse to grant the exemption, requiring the local approvals to be won.

READ MORE about this issue.

Kyle Alspach can be reached at kalspach@enterprisenews.com.

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